The Saudi Arabian government has been carrying out a multimillion dollar lobbying campaign in the United States against the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Bill (JASTA). During this campaign, Saudi Arabia has paid lobbying firms to write op-eds for U.S. media and government officials against JASTA. One of the latest forms of their lobbying is to contact former U.S. servicemen and women and try to enlist them to lobby Congress directly against JASTA. Vets are being offered luxury trips to Washington to tell Congress they oppose JASTA, paid for by Saudi Arabia’s lobbying firm and its consultants.

JASTA empowers American citizens, including the survivors and families of victims of 9/11, to sue foreign countries in response to terrorist acts on American soil. Unclassified documents demonstrate a link between Saudi Arabian officials and the groups of 9/11 terrorists, which is why Saudi Arabia has been desperately lobbying against the law in the U.S. They are particularly supportive of an introduced bill that would limit the power of the anti-terrorism law. Widow and national chair for the 9/11 Families & Survivors United for Justice Against Terrorists, Terry Strada, described the bill to the Daily Caller as an effort to “torpedo JASTA by imposing changes demanded by Saudi Arabia’s lobbyists” (dailycaller.com).

The Daily Caller carried out an investigative report into how Saudi Arabia is targeting veterans through lobbying firms, which revealed persuasive emails and paid trip itineraries. The firm Saudi Arabia hired is called Qorvis MSLGROUP and it is one of the biggest public relations firms in the world. Qorvis MSLGROUP hired several consultants who asked vets to petition and pledge their support of changing or repealing JASTA and invited them to visit Washington to speak out about JASTA to Congress. Vets were offered stays in $500 per night luxury hotels (including Trump International Hotel).

Combat Veteran Malachias Gaskin shared his experience with the Daily Caller. He was emailed a petition and then offered a dinner and paid trip to D.C. A paid trip itinerary was quickly mailed to him but he was given very little information about the details of the trip or what he would be talking to Congress about, which aroused his suspicion. Gaskins ended up researching JASTA himself and decided not to participate in the lobbying efforts. Strada stated veterans targeted by Saudi Arabia’s contractors and consultants were bring duped, while a Qorvis MSLGROUP representative said “this is totally out in the open,” according to Newsmax (newsmax.com).

Through these diverse lobbying efforts, Saudi Arabia is blatantly seeking to undermine JASTA in an attempt to prevent a trial in which it will have to defend itself and be held responsible for its links to the 9/11 attacks. The Miller Firm believes Saudi Arabia should not be able to avoid liability and has a proven track record of winning judgments from state sponsors of terrorism.

The Miller Firm is now accepting clients who were injured or families who experienced terrible loss during the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2011. You can call 1-800-882-2525 and ask to speak to attorneys David Dickens, Timothy Litzenburg, Michael Miller or Nancy Miller. They can be reached as well at [email protected] or [email protected].